Serbia, Restaurant Review: Dorian Gray
If you are not the literary type you may not see the irony in naming a restaurant after this Oscar Wilde character. Then again, it was Dorian himself who had the chance to live the good life, while it was his picture that suffered. For those looking for the good life in Belgrade, Dorian Gray Restaurant is a good place to start.
A charming restaurant with a large outdoor terrace, Dorian Gray is a bit of civility that seems all but out of place with less sumptuous cafes of the area. Sporting a fine wine list with both local and international wines, the menu itself is an eclectic mix of everything the world has to offer.
Pulling off such a diverse repertoire is none too easy, and a trick that many a lesser establishment has failed at. Dorian Gray does a nice job; perhaps not rising to the potential of a specialist, but far from falling flat in their diversity.
We started with a Pate de Foie Gras which was shaped in a truncated pyramid and served with a red currant jelly and whole pieces of toast (rather than a more traditional toast points). Very nice, although I failed in my attempt to have an accompanying glass of Sauternes or similar tart dessert wine.
The Boneless Rabbit was served with of all things, the bone in. It was paired with fresh gnocchi and a dark demi-glace sauce. The dish was delightfully rich and successful. A traditional Continental dish from a bit further east than the traditional continent.
The Fried Duck was more Asian inspired, complete with sesame oil and a shiny and rather unctuous sauce. It was tasty, but a bit much about half way through.
The wine service was most notable for being very careful to ensure a sound bottle of wine. The wine steward himself tasted and rejected the first bottle, and after the second bottle was also found to be suspect we changed to a different producer.
It would have been easy for the Dorian Gray to skimp on the service or the flair of the menu, since it seemed to be wasted on the mostly water drinking clientele we saw, but they took the high road and brought a bit of elegance to Old Belgrade.
A charming restaurant with a large outdoor terrace, Dorian Gray is a bit of civility that seems all but out of place with less sumptuous cafes of the area. Sporting a fine wine list with both local and international wines, the menu itself is an eclectic mix of everything the world has to offer.
Pulling off such a diverse repertoire is none too easy, and a trick that many a lesser establishment has failed at. Dorian Gray does a nice job; perhaps not rising to the potential of a specialist, but far from falling flat in their diversity.
We started with a Pate de Foie Gras which was shaped in a truncated pyramid and served with a red currant jelly and whole pieces of toast (rather than a more traditional toast points). Very nice, although I failed in my attempt to have an accompanying glass of Sauternes or similar tart dessert wine.
The Boneless Rabbit was served with of all things, the bone in. It was paired with fresh gnocchi and a dark demi-glace sauce. The dish was delightfully rich and successful. A traditional Continental dish from a bit further east than the traditional continent.
The Fried Duck was more Asian inspired, complete with sesame oil and a shiny and rather unctuous sauce. It was tasty, but a bit much about half way through.
The wine service was most notable for being very careful to ensure a sound bottle of wine. The wine steward himself tasted and rejected the first bottle, and after the second bottle was also found to be suspect we changed to a different producer.
It would have been easy for the Dorian Gray to skimp on the service or the flair of the menu, since it seemed to be wasted on the mostly water drinking clientele we saw, but they took the high road and brought a bit of elegance to Old Belgrade.
posted by Wineguy at 6:13 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home